Tugs: The Humanize Adventures
by Darkknight55
Summary: The 1920's was a time of big business for Big City Port, and at the center of it were its tugboats. These are the stories of those who operated these vehicles. Rated Teen for violence and possible coarse language
1. Sunshine

A/N: Hey guys! This is a little experiment I wanted to try. As you may or may not know, Thomas and Friends actually had a sister series called Tugs, which was about two fleets of tugboats competing in the city of Big City Port in the 1920's. It was short lived, but enjoyable, so I decided to do something different and try humanizing the series like I have with Thomas. Due to the content of the series it will be rated teen, and there may be minor coarse language. So without further ado, here's the first chapter. For future reference, if it is not made clear who is narrating, it is Captain Starr for those who are not familiar with how the series works.

Dedicated to David Mitton, who helped bring both Thomas and Tugs to life. May he rest in peace.

Chapter 1: Sunshine part 1

The Roaring 20's. A time for wealth, prosperity, and change. Big City Port was the largest harbor in the world at the time, and lots of contracts came from the sea. Here the Tugboat plays an important role, transporting goods into and out of port. Despite its size, the tugboat is the strongest craft afloat, and as many of my skipper were tell you, one of the most majestic. During these years I had six skippers, and they were the hardest working crew I had ever seen. Although they each were different, they knew the importance of teamwork.

My first employee was Otis Johnson, or OJ for short. He was an elder fellow, but his experience won me many a contract. He drove the last paddle driven tug in the port, and although she was old and in need of repairs she always pulled through. Next we have Big Mac and Warrior, the two brothers. Warrior was rather clumsy, and not exactly the brightest bulb on the tree, but he was a hard worker, and that meant a lot to me. Big Mac was a brave man, and never backed down from a job. They drove the two harbor tugs, and were useful in many contracts. I also had a railway tug in my fleet, and manning this machine was a man by the name of Top Hatt. He was rather pompous, not to mention blunt, but he had a heart deep down and was as hard a worker as anybody. My youngest recruit was a lad named Ten Cents. Although not as experienced as my other employees, he was a quick learner, and drove his harbor switcher like he had done it all his life. I could rely on him for anything, and often did. Lastly there was Hercules, who manned my ocean-going vessel. Although he was often out of port, and away from the action, he brought in good money, and was ready for anything. Together we made up the Star Fleet, led by me, Captain Starr. They worked hard day and night, trying to be the best fleet in the port, not always succeeding but always proved their worth.

I remember the day where we got our first big break. It began, as always, at 6:30 AM.

"Morning, Star Fleet!" I boomed out my office window. They were already awake, getting their craft ready for the days work. A few mumbles of greeting were my only reply.

"Oh, don't be like that. Besides I have some good news," I said, "First order of business, I've hired a new employee on trial to help with the extra work. Ten Cents, he'll be working with you. Show him how we do things."

"Aye aye, sir," Ten Cents said, "er, what's his name?"

"Sunshine."

"Sunshine?" Gasped Top Hatt, always one to be a drama king, "Only good for daylight, is he?"

"Ought to brighten you up a bit, eh Top Hatt?" Ten Cents replied. A few laughs came from everyone else, while Top Hatt seethed in fury.

"Alright, alright, settle down," I said, "Give Sunshine a chance, will you? Now on to the important news. After a lot of hard bargaining I managed to get the Ocean Liner Contract. This afternoon we'll be bringing in The Duchess."

My employees perked up at that. While Ocean Liners were no stranger to us, The Duchess was one of the most extravagant ocean liners in the world. To bring her into port would be an honor most could only dream of.

"Alright, here are your positions. OJ, you're in charge. Big Mac will lead, and Top Hatt and Warrior will be on the side push."

"Sorry, little Ten Cents," Top Hatt said snootily, "Only experienced workers on this job. Better luck next time."

"Just make sure not to upset her" Ten Cents replied.

"Alright, briefing over, now get to work," I said, wrapping things up, "Ten Cents, find Sunshine and take him on your fuel delivery. The rest of you are to do your normal jobs, and make sure you all look your best by this Afternoon. Especially you, Warrior. Our employers won't be impressed if The Duchess smells like garbage, and neither will her passengers."

Our biggest rivals in those days were Captain Zero and his fleet, known as the Z-stacks. A mysterious and conniving individual, he was always looking for ways to get ahead, not all of them legal.

"Now listen to me and listen good," he snarled through his megaphone to his skippers, "The Star Fleet just got the ocean liner contract, and I'm not happy!"

"We're not smiling, Captain Zero," Zorran chimed in.

"I'm glad you don't find this funny, Zorran. Now I want that contract and you're going to get it for me."

"But sir," Zip, who was rather dim-witted, "I thought…"

"I don't care what you think!" Zero snapped, "You lot are superior to that Star Fleet in every way. You're more cunning, faster, better looking, and most importantly, devious."

"I like the part about being better looking," Zack said.

"Don't you worry, Captain," Zorran stepped up, "I'll get that contract if my name isn't Zorran."

"But it is Zorran, isn't it?"

A/N: And that's a wrap! Sorry to cut it short, but since tugs is longer in episode length than Thomas I need to split the stories into parts, and this seemed like a good place to stop. Anyway, let me know what you think. The next part, if this story goes well, will be up tomorrow. Bye!


	2. Sunshine part 2

Chapter 2: Sunshine part 2

Sadly, Hercules got called off on a job overseas, so I wouldn't have his tug's power on the day I would need it most. Ten Cents went to see him off, still looking for Sunshine.

"Ah, Ten Cents, Nice to see you," Hercules said in his smooth voice, "How are things?"

"Eh, alright," replied Ten Cents, "Hey, you haven't seen the new guy anywhere, have you?"

"Afraid not, old sport," Hercules said as he drove out of port, "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll find him eventually. Sorry I can't stay any longer, but I need to get going. Look after the Duchess for me, will you?"

And with that he was gone, leaving Ten Cents no closer than he was when he asked. Just then OJ came up to him.

"Eh, Ten Cents," he said, "If you're looking for Sunshine, I just saw him enter port, heading this way."

"Okay, thanks OJ," Ten Cents replied, and left to go find him. Unfortunately, he wasn't looking at where he was going, and ended up hitting a boat he had never seen before. The skipper was younger than him, and looked rather eager.

"Oh, uh, sorry sir," replied the stranger, "I'm in a bit of a hurry. You haven't seen a Ten Cents anywhere, have you?"

"You just bumped into him," Ten Cents said, "Don't worry about it, I wasn't watching where I was going. Now come on, we got a lot of work to do. The rest of my fleet is towing in The Duchess this afternoon, and if we get finished early, we can watch.

"Aye aye, sir."

"Look, in the future, only call Captain Star sir. I'm just Ten Cents."

"Oh, uh, alright si- I mean, Ten Cents."

Over at the harbor entrance, Zorran and Zack were looking for ships to tow in when they spotted a familiar figure on the deck of a tramp steamer. It was Izzy Gomez, a ship captain for San Juan Bananas. Old Izzy was a bit of a cheapskate, always trying to get in to port for free or a reduced price.

"Aye, if it isn't the Zero fleet," he mumbled to himself, "Hey, how about a tow into port, eh? Can't let these bananas go to waste, can we?"

"Sorry, Izzy, but we can't take bananas as payment," Zack said, laughing at his own wit.

"Well, how about I trade a tow into port for some information you might find of interest."

"What kind of information?" Zorran asked, skeptical that Izzy had anything of use to them.

"Well, The Duchess is coming in this afternoon, non?"

"No duh, dummy," Zack said, "If you want a tow, you're either going to have to pay up, or do better than that."

"Well, turns out that she be coming early," Izzy said, "Heard it over the radio, told everyone to clear the shipping lanes. Now I stuck here with rotting bananas."

"This is big news," Zorran said, "Come on Zack, we need to tell Captain Zero."

"Hey, what about my tow?"

"Go tell it to someone who cares, you Mexican cheapskate!"

And with that, Izzy was left alone.

"I knew I should've gotten the tow first. Now I'm going to smell like rotten fruit for a week. My boss will kill me."

Captain Zero was pleased with the news, and told his tugs to make sure my fleet was incapitated by the time the ship arrived. If only we knew what they were planning, we could've prepared for what lay ahead.

Meanwhile, Ten Cents and Sunshine were delivering fuel to the seaplane hangar, located right next to Lucky's yard, where all boat repairs were undertaken. They were talking to Sally, a pilot of an old seaplane that was used to advertise upcoming events.

"Hi, Ten Cents," she said cheerfully, "Who's your friend."

"Sally, this is Sunshine," Ten Cents responded, "Sunshine, meet Sally. She's a good friend of mine."

"H-hello, Sally," Sunshine stammered, clearly enamored by her. Sally just chuckled and waved in response.

"Thanks for the fuel, fellas," she said.

"Well, I wish we could stay and chat, but we got more work to do," Ten Cents said, "Bye, Sally."

Unbeknownst to Ten Cents and Sunshine, Zorran, Zip and Zug were nearby, but far away enough to be out of hearing distance.

"Alright, since Hercules is away, it's time for us Z-stacks to play," Zorran said, "Since Big Mac has the next strongest tug, he'll be our target."

"But he's bigger than us, and so is his tug," Zip complained.

"He's towing barges, knucklehead," Zorran groaned, "Just push his tug onto a mud bank. His route is closest to the mudbanks, so he'll be easy to get rid of."

"Alright Zorran, if you say so," Zip said, still unsure.

Meanwhile, Warrior was back at the harbor entrance. Izzy, still trying to get into port, saw him.

"Eh, Warrior, give me a hand, would you compadre? I'll give you a hundred dollars. That's the normal fee isn't it?"

"Sorry, Izzy, but I don't have time to give you a tow," Warrior said, "Captain Star wants us to be ready for The Duchess."

"Well, you better hurry it up, then," Izzy said, "She's coming in early. Might be here within the next hour or so."

"What?" Warrior asked, surprised, "Sorry Izzy, I got to go tell Captain Star. I'll be back as soon as I can."

And he left without saying a further word.

"Aye aye aye, why did I have to tell him that? I need to keep my big mouth shut."

Zip and Zug were waiting for Big Mac as he traveled up the Estuary.

"Eh, Big Mac, need a hand?" Zug asked, trying to sound as innocent as possible.

"No thanks, Zug," Big Mac said gruffly, "Gotta get these barges into port as quickly as possible."

"You sure? You got a lot of barges there. It'll be easier if we work together, no?"

"Yeah, what he said," Zip agreed. Big Mac agreed, not wanting to bother arguing with them.

"Alright, alright," he sighed. Unbeknownst to him, he played right into their trap.

It was just a few minutes into The Duchess arrived. Thanks to Warrior we managed to get ready in time, but Big Mac was still missing.

"I dare say, where is that Big Mac?" Top Hatt asked impatiently, "The Duchess will be here any minute."

"I'll go find him," Ten Cents said. He didn't have to travel far. There, lodged up on a sandbank, was Big Mac's tugboat, with Big Mac leaning agains the wheelhouse.

"Big Mac, what happened?"

"It was Zip and Zug," Big Mac said crossly, "I should have known they were up to no good."

"Wait right here, I'll go get Mighty Mo and his crane."

"There's no time for that. The Duchess will be here soon. Just give me a ride into port and we can sort it out with the coast guard."

"But we can't pull her in without your tug. Mine isn't strong enough."

"Get sunshine to help as well. At this point it's our only chance."

And with that, Ten Cents sped off, with Big Mac on board his tugboat. Sadly, nothing could prepare us for what happened next.


End file.
